1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the field of exercise devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to the field of balancing and exercising boards.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well known in the art that balancing and exercising devices consist of a disk or a square shaped object which has one or more holes in the disk to accommodate a balancing means such as a circular ball. In most cases, the balls are made of hard material such as wood and do not have any resilience in them, and therefore are harder to balance and harder to simulate a sports action, and therefore the disk and ball do less to truly assist in stimulation of proprioceptors (little sensors at the end of the nerves) in the muscles, tendons, and joints. Other types of prior art devices comprise a ball or a hemispherical object which is screwed onto the bottom of the plate and the individual balances thereon. Another prior art device is a ball which is a separate item from the plate and fits into an opening within the plate on which to balance. The disadvantage with these prior art devices is that if someone stands on the prior art plates and it tilts all the way to the left or right sides of the plate, the side of the plate touching the ground forms an angle approximately in a range of 5.degree. to 15.degree. for a circular object and when a square shaped object is used, the angle once again is typically approximately 20.degree., in which the angle of drop is not steep at all, and thereby does not provide enough stimulation of proprioceptors in the muscles, tendons, and joints.
The following sixteen (16) prior art patents are found to be pertinent to the field of the present invention:
1. U.S. Pat. No. 3,024,021 issued to Coplin et al. on Mar. 6, 1962 for "Amusement And Exercising Toy" (hereafter the "Coplin Patent");
2. U.S. Pat. No. 3,298,687 issued to Douglas on Jan. 17, 1967 for "Manually Operated Therapeutic Roller And Exercising Device" (hereafter the "Douglas Patent");
3. U.S. Pat. No. 3,716,229 issued to Van Der Cleyen et al. on Feb. 13, 1973 for "Recreational Apparatus" (hereafter the "Van Der Cleyen Patent");
4. U.S. Pat. No. 3,806,116 issued to Malmberg et al. on Apr. 23, 1974 for "Balancing Device"(hereafter the "Malmberg Patent");
5. U.S. Pat. No. 3,862,768 issued to England on Jan. 28, 1975 for "Rollable Fulcrum Balancing Board Recreational And Exercise Device Provided With Non-Linear Stabilization Features" (hereafter the "England Patent");
6. U.S. Pat. No. 3,984,100 issued to Firster on Oct. 5, 1976 for "Exerciser Apparatus For The Human Extremities" (hereafter the "Firster Patent");
7. U.S. Pat. No. 3,604,726 issued to Tracy on Sep. 14, 1971 for "Balance Ball For Amusement And Exercise" (hereafter the "Tracy Patent");
8. U.S. Pat. No. 4,491,318 issued to Francke on Jan. 1, 1985 for "Variable Speed Balance Or Teeter Board" (hereafter the "Francke Patent");
9. U.S. Pat. No. 4,653,748 issued to Seel et al. on Mar. 31, 1987 for "Biomechanical Ankle Platform" (hereafter the "Seel Patent");
10. U.S. Pat. No. 4,817,950 issued to Goo on Apr. 4, 1989 for "Video Game Control Unit And Attitude Sensor" (hereafter the "Goo Patent");
11. U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,629 issued to Vaughan on Nov. 5, 1991 for "Surfing Simulator" (hereafter the "Vaughan Patent");
12. U.S. Pat. No. 5,328,421 issued to Stanalajczo on Jul. 12, 1994 for "Closed Kinetic Chain Exercise Device And Method" (hereafter the "Stanalajczo Patent");
13. U.S. Pat. No. 5,342,266 issued to Dailey on Aug. 30, 1994 for "Slalom Ski Trainer" (hereafter the "Dailey Patent");
14. U.S. Pat. No. 5,399,140 issued to Klippel on Mar. 21, 1995 for "Balancing Sport Board" (hereafter the "Klippel Patent");
15. Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) No. WO 94/08664 issued to Smith on Apr. 28, 1994 for "Apparatus And Method For Developing Balancing Skills" (hereafter the "Smith Patent"); and
16. German Patent No. DE 3620-706 for "Sports Or Therapy Appliance-Consists Of Flat Covering Plate To Which Faceted Base Is Fixed" (hereafter the "'706 German Patent").
The Coplin Patent discloses an amusement and exercising toy. It comprises a base member which is in the form of a ball. A standing plate is supported on top of the base member by a rubber pad. The rubber pad is disposed in a rounded indentation in the plate for receiving the rubber pad and the ball. The large ball makes the plate too easy to balance. In addition, the degree of tilt for this plate is approximately 5.degree. to 15.degree. at most. Therefore, there is less muscle activation.
The Douglas Patent discloses a manually operated therapeutic roller and exercising device. It comprises a cylindrical roller which is covered by a flexible material with a hollow shaft disposed in an axial passage of the roller and supported by the roller for rotation of the shaft relative to the roller. The shaft extends from both ends of the roller to provide hand grips. An extensible device is disposed in part within the shaft and has two pulling handles and an elastic cord for pulling each handle.
The Van Der Cleyen discloses a recreational apparatus. It comprises a hollow inflated resilient ball and an annular foot support which encircles the inflated ball. The apparatus is assembled by positioning the deflated ball within the annular platform and then inflating the ball until the ball fits tightly within the annular platform and constricted thereby, so as to bulge out on either side of the platform. An individual stands on top of the platform to bounce the apparatus on the floor surface and therefore the apparatus is used for bouncing and not balancing. The device is strictly used as a recreational toy on which to bounce up and down and cannot be used as a balancing device from which to build muscle.
The Malmberg Patent discloses a balancing device which comprises a rigid platform with a plurality of recesses of different configurations and a solid spherical support member for supporting the platform. The platform is preferably circular shaped with a 24 inch diameter. The Malmberg's device is too hard to operate to combine balancing and spinning at the same time as well as rolling or moving to simulate a sport. In addition, the degree of tilt for the platform is approximately 5.degree. to 15.degree. at most.
The England Patent discloses a rollable fulcrum balancing board recreational and exercise device provided with non-linear stabilization features. The rollable fulcrum is confined within a cavity formed by a protuberant center portion occupying about two-thirds of the length of the balancing board. The balancing board is constructed to resemble a sombrero hat and adapted to balance and ride on a spherically-shaped fulcrum. The relative action between the curved bearing undersurface of the hat shaped balancing board and the fulcrum ball is retarded or slowed in part by the special shape of the concave dome shaped undersurface of the hat shaped balancing board and is slowed or controlled in part by the ratio of the radii of curvature of the concave undersurface to the radius of the sphere shaped fulcrum ball. The balancing board has a degree of tilt, which is approximately 5.degree. to 10.degree.. Further, the device is on a rollable fulcrum which makes it difficult to simulate a sport.
The Firster Patent discloses an exerciser apparatus for the human extremities. It comprises a platform and a rounded member which is ball-like and is attached to the platform by a threaded stud. An attachment rests on the top surface of the platform and is a wedge-like element that places a foot at an angle to the top surface of the platform.
The Tracy Patent discloses a balance ball for amusement and exercise. It comprises a disk-shaped platform on a freely rotatable ball and a dome-shaped housing extends over the rotatable ball, where the rotatable ball engages with ball bearings for allowing the platform to move. Secured to the housing is the disk-shaped platform on which the user stands.
The Francke Patent discloses a variable speed balance or teeter board. It comprises a platform and a fulcrum extending downwardly from the bottom of the platform. Two or more damping members are always attached to the bottom of the platform for controlling the speed of tilt of the platform. There is no skill involved to balance the platform and activation of the leg muscles. It is like riding a bicycle with training wheels. The degree of tilt for the platform is approximately 10.degree. to 15.degree. at most.
The Seel Patent discloses a biomechanical ankle platform. It comprises a flat platform and a hemispherical member secured to the bottom surface of the platform at its diametric planar surface. The platform can only accommodate one foot at a time.
The Goo Patent discloses a video game control unit and attitude sensor. It comprises a surfing video game in which a surfing figure on a monitor moves over simulated waves to gain playing rewards. A foot operated video game controller comprises a surfboard mounted parallel to a supporting surface supported by a suspension system biased to maintain the board in a horizontal position. The suspension system has a fulcrum surrounded by a resilient member, such as an inner tube of a tire or an annular ring of resilient foam, which acts to dampen tilting movement of the platform and to return the platform to a horizontal position. The object is to tilt the mechanism to score points and no real balancing is required. The maximum tilt is approximately 5.degree..
The Vaughan Patent discloses a surfing simulator. The surfing simulator comprises a ball bearing turntable, an adjustable spring plate assembly, a flexible mounting pad and an elongated contoured riding deck. The riding deck is connected to a stationary supporting base. The user steps onto the riding deck near its center and as the user's feet are moved apart into the surfing stance, the user's weight can be shifted and rotational forces applied to create and sustain a complex rhythmic motion combining spin, tilt and rocking.
The Stanalajczo Patent discloses a closed kinetic exercise device and method. It comprises a support platform including side to side and front to rear enhanced friction surfaces arranged to position the feet of a user with each foot on one side of a pivot plate in a variety of locations on either side and along the length of a pivot plate. The pivot plate has a height that is selected to produce a predetermined angular movement that will translate into a desired manipulation of a particular pair of joints depending upon the positioning of the user's feet at fore and aft and side to side locations on the enhanced friction surfaces. A locking member is directed through the pivot plate and the support platform intermediate the opposite ends thereof, intersecting the curved surfaces to interlock them against fore and aft movements therebetween without constraining pivoting movements therebetween.
The Dailey Patent discloses a slalom ski trainer. It comprises a main channel member with a vertical upright member which is rigidly mounted substantially perpendicular at one end. A ski rope is connected to the vertical upright member at a free end and remote from the main channel member. A ski board is slidably and swivally mounted to the main channel member. A resilient sliding resistance means is attached to the main channel member at a location distal from the vertical upright member and the ski board for the purpose of providing a substantially elastic resistance to the sliding longitudinal displacement of the ski board.
The Klippel Patent discloses a balancing sport board. It comprises an elongated platform for receiving a user. A lower surface of the platform is attached to two sectors which are rotatable about two shafts positioned along a common horizontal axis of rotation. Each shaft is secured about a sector post anchored to a horizontal planar board. The lower surface of the board is attached to a pivot means with the board being pivotable about a vertical axis of rotation. The pivot means is attached to a rectangular plank movable along a linear horizontal axis. Elastic means are attached about the front and rear of the plank and tend to urge the plank toward a center location of the sport platform when used, and thereby the platform is revolvable about horizontal and vertical axes of rotation, and is movable laterally along a linear axes.
The Smith Patent discloses an apparatus and method for developing balancing skills. It comprises a platform and a rod threaded through and perpendicular to the platform.
The German Patent discloses sports or therapy appliance which consists of a flat covering plate to which a faceted base is fixed.
It is desirable to have a very efficient and also very effective design and construction of a balancing and exercising device which enables an individual to achieve a balance comparable to the type of balance that will be needed for surfing and snowboarding. It is also desirable to provide a more difficult device that can be balanced and assimilate sports for activating more muscles than the prior art devices since the angle to the ground can be much steeper than with prior art devices. The balancing and exercising device accomplishes this by activating more proprioceptors, thereby getting muscles to work in cooperation with one another better for good bone movement.